What's on in New Orleans (NOLA), United States through the year

Peak crowds — Carnival and Mardi Gras, Winter / Christmas break in United States

• Festival

  Carnival and Mardi Gras

  6 Jan – 9 Mar · usuallyCrowdedBook early

  The season opens on Twelfth Night and builds for weeks; the parades that matter run the eleven days before Fat Tuesday, and the date moves with Easter. Rooms in the Quarter and the Garden District are gone six months out. Source ↗

Busy — Carnival and Mardi Gras

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Carnival and Mardi Gras (6 Jan – 9 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Carnival and Mardi Gras, Spring break in United States

• Festival

  St Joseph's Day and Super Sunday

  15–29 MarMajor festival

  The Mardi Gras Indians come out in the new suits on the night of 19 March and again on the Sunday nearest it, in Central City rather than the Quarter. No route is published; you follow the sound. Source ↗

Still on: Carnival and Mardi Gras (6 Jan – 9 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — French Quarter Festival, Jazz Fest

• Festival

  French Quarter Festival

  5–16 Apr · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Four free days of Louisiana music on stages through the Quarter and along the river in early April, before the humidity arrives. Locals rate it above the bigger festival that follows it. Source ↗

• Festival

  Jazz Fest

  20 Apr – 5 May · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Two long weekends at the Fair Grounds at the turn of April into May, gospel tent and brass bands as much as headliners. The city runs at capacity and the ground turns to mud if it rains. Source ↗

Busy — Jazz Fest

• Hazard

  Formosan termite swarms

  1 May – 15 Jun · usuallyInsect season

  On warm still evenings in May the Formosan termites fly in clouds thick enough to clear a restaurant patio and coat every lit window in the Quarter. It runs a couple of weeks and everyone kills the porch lights. Source ↗

Still on: Jazz Fest (20 Apr – 5 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Essence Festival of Culture, Summer break in United States

• Hazard

  Atlantic hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  The Gulf coast's exposure peaks from mid-August into September. Most trips are unaffected, but this is the one place where travel insurance and a flexible booking are the sensible default. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Summer heat and humidity

  15 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  The city moves indoors for three months, with an afternoon thunderstorm most days and heat advisories through much of it. Hotel rates are at their lowest for exactly this reason. Source ↗

• Festival

  Essence Festival of Culture

  28 Jun – 8 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Four days around the Fourth of July weekend, nightly concerts in the Superdome and free daytime programming at the convention centre. It is the busiest weekend of the New Orleans summer. Source ↗

Still on: Formosan termite swarms (1 May – 15 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Essence Festival of Culture, Summer break in United States

• Festival

  Satchmo SummerFest

  1–2 AugMajor festival

  A free weekend of traditional jazz and brass bands around Armstrong's birthday at the start of August, held in the Quarter and priced for locals. About the only reason to be here in August. Source ↗

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Summer heat and humidity (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Essence Festival of Culture (28 Jun – 8 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Southern Decadence, Summer break in United States

• Festival

  Southern Decadence

  28 Aug – 8 Sep · usuallyPrideCrowdedBook early

  Labor Day weekend in the lower Quarter, five days of parties ending with the Sunday parade off Bourbon Street. Hotel prices behave like Mardi Gras for a weekend in the worst of the heat. Source ↗

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Summer heat and humidity (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Satchmo SummerFest (1–2 Aug)

Peak crowds — Southern Decadence, Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Summer heat and humidity (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Southern Decadence (28 Aug – 8 Sep (usually))

Busy — Halloween and Krewe of Boo

• Festival

  Halloween and Krewe of Boo

  24–31 OctNational holidayCrowded

  The city takes Halloween not far short of how it takes Carnival: a night parade with floats through the Marigny and the Quarter, and Frenchmen Street in costume for the weekend either side. Source ↗

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Halloween and Krewe of Boo (24–31 Oct)

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Reveillon dinners

  1–31 DecChristmas & New Year

  Restaurants run Creole Reveillon menus through December, the oaks on St Charles are lit, and the Quarter is as quiet as it gets. The cheapest month to see the city properly. Source ↗